IN THE RED

08.12.11

AL County $3.1 Billion in Debt

Butch Dill

Leaders of Jefferson County, Alabama’s largest county, rejected a settlement with Wall Street to pay off $3.1 billion in debt. The rejection lays the groundwork for filing bankruptcy, which would be the largest municipal bankruptcy ever filed in the U.S. The county has $3.1 billion in debt from its sewer system, and another $1 billion in debt that has been blamed on the economy, court rulings, and public corruption.